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If you've been eyeing that weight bench and wondering how you're supposed to use it for strength training, don't worry -- it's not as difficult as those heavy lifters might make it look. As you get started, you should be focusing your energy on learning a few exercises that will help you strengthen the major muscles in various areas of your body. Learn a few basic moves to start and then branch out as you gain more confidence and strength.

Bench Press

Perhaps the most common use for the weight bench is bench presses, though they're far from the only workout option. Bench press exercises focus on the muscles of the chest, including the pectoralis major and minor. To do the exercise, start in a supine position, with both feet planted flat on the floor and your back flat against the bench. Hold the barbell just in front of your chest -- or in the case of dumbbells, hold them just in front of your shoulders. Then press the weight upward until your arms are straight, creating tension in the pectoralis muscles of the chest. In the up position, the bar or dumbbells should be positioned over the upper chest. Lower back to the starting position and then repeat the entire motion a total of 12 to 15 times.

Dumbbell Fly

Try using your weight bench to do dumbbell flyes, which also target the pectoral muscles. Lie on your back on the bench. Hold a pair of dumbbells with your arms extended straight above your chest and your palms facing one another. Then "fly" your arms open so that they're in a "T" position at your sides, keeping your elbows slightly bent and your palms pointed toward the ceiling. When you feel a stretch in your chest muscles, you've moved your arms wide enough and it's OK to move them back to the starting position. Do a set of 12 to 15 repetitions.

Dumbbell Pullover

Another way to target your pectoralis major is with dumbbell pullovers. Start by lying down on the bench, perpendicular to the bench, so that only your upper back rests on the cushion. Straighten your back to maintain a flat torso and rest your feet flat on the floor. Hold a single dumbbell in both hands over your head and with your arms straight. Then pull from that overhead position to just above your chest. Your elbows should be bent a little throughout the movement. Move back to the starting position and then complete a 12- to 15-repetition set.

Abdominal Workout

The ideal strength-training routine needs to work all major muscle groups, so it's a good idea to find other ways to incorporate the bench. A basic plank exercise helps to strengthen the entire upper body, including the abdominals, quadriceps and chest. Do it by placing your feet on the bench and your hands on the floor, moving up to a position in which your body is face-down and in a long straight line. Hold that position for 30 seconds at a time, or make it more difficult by walking your hands backward until your upper and lower body are at a 90-degree angle from one another and then walk forward again. Repeat the motion a total of 12 to 15 times. Also for the abs, try lying on the floor with your calves resting on the top of the bench. Then do a set of 20 crunches.

Jump Training for Legs

For the legs, use the bench for jump training. Jump up onto the bench with both feet -- or one foot at a time -- and then jump down, turn around and jump right back up, repeating the motion 15 times. This is a form of plyometrics that can help you build leg strength as well as explosive power.

Doing It Right

One key to a successful weight-training program is to lift the right amount of weight. The "right" amount of weight, as you might have guessed, is going to be different for everyone. Finding the right weight is going to take some trial and error in the beginning, but as a general rule, you should lift enough weight to cause your muscles to feel fatigued at the end of a 12-repetition set. For the bench press, that might be 40 pounds, including the weight of the bar. For the fly, that might involve lifting two 15-pound dumbbells. As a beginner, start with a weight that seems manageable and don't choose a heavier weight just to keep up with others. Have a spotter or coach help you, if possible, ensuring that you're doing the exercises safely and effectively. Start out doing just one set of each exercise. After a week or so of doing these exercises three days a week, you can add a second set.

As You Progress

After a few weeks of doing this routine, you can officially stop calling yourself a beginner. If you've stuck it out three days a week, you should start to notice changes in your body, such as more muscle mass and more strength. To keep making progress, you're going to have to change your exercises so that your muscles don't become adapted to the routine. If you want to stick to a routine that only involves the weight bench and doesn't incorporate other free weights or machines, you can change the angle of your bench and then do your flyes and presses in an inclined or declined position. This is one way to help avoid muscle adaptation to the exercises. After a few weeks, switch it up again and move back to the flat bench, or switch to an incline if you previously were doing a decline.

About the Author

Nicole Vulcan has been a journalist since 1997, covering parenting and fitness for The Oregonian, careers for CareerAddict, and travel, gardening and fitness for Black Hills Woman and other publications. Vulcan holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and journalism from the University of Minnesota. She's also a lifelong athlete and is pursuing certification as a personal trainer.